Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion, Mauricio Rua, isn’t going to retire from mixed martial arts (MMA) and he’s certainly not going to make the oft-requested drop down to the middleweight division.
Instead, “Shogun” will dig his heels in and try to get back into the win column opposite the inconsistent Tyson Pedro at the upcoming UFC Fight Night 142 mixed martial arts (MMA) event, booked for Dec. 2, 2018 inside Adelaide Entertainment Centre in South Australia.
That’s according to a report from ESPN.
Rua (25-11) will turn 37 before his return “Down Under” and will be looking to rebound from his violent technical knockout loss to rising slugger Anthony Smith. Getting devoured by “Lionheart” snapped a three-fight winning streak for the Brazilian banger and he’s now been finished in eight of his 11 losses.
As for Pedro (7-2), the hype train went off the tracks for the Sydney-based submission specialist after hitting the brick wall knows as Ilir Latifi at UFC 215. It was the first time the 27 year-old prospect went to the judges’ scorecards and he now stands at just 1-2 inside the Octagon after jumping out to a 6-0 start in his pro career.
UFC Fight Night 142 will be headlined by the heavyweight slugfest pitting Junior dos Santos opposite Tai Tuivasa. That’s the same event that has Gokhan Saki calling for a Mark Hunt showdown at 265 pounds, so this could turn out to be a very interesting card to help close out the promotion’s 2018 fight campaign.